why cause it contradicts your opinion?
all those 300kw+ evo's running on stock ecus, intercoolers, cams, etc. also do, go argue with them. Evo turbo is good for over 250kw on E85. Brad on here made i think it was 270 or 280 on a standard evo 6 turbo. And unless something has radically changed since i had a 200, you're going to need to replace your ECU to run a dual map set up on a Nissan.
evo's dont really get expensive til they break. fixing a diff or a clutch is a problem.

former S14a owner, current Evo 9 owner. S14 had 240rwkw when i sold out, evo was bog stock when i bought it and it still felt faster. Just a totally different car to drive. You just have to drive both and decide which you like more. Tail out shenanigans aren't my thing so i obviously much prefer the Evo.
evo is the pick for budget mods, only because it's so well equipped from the factory. Saying mods are less common or more expensive is a lie. CT9A Evos are everywhere in the US, just means you buy american instead of japanese parts. IMO it's (much) cheaper on the evo because you dont need as much stuff to achieve the same result. You'll never need to change the ECU. Evo ECU is amazing. Stock intercooler is good up to 300kw. etc.
you're gonna be pushing to do much with 20k. you'd be looking at an evo 7 and you wont get much change if any. Up your budget to 25 and you're better off. If you can source an evo 8 in your budget, do that. The 4G in the 7's has weaker rods.
Basically exhaust, fuel pump, retune, done. Dont even need a boost controller, buy a 3 port and swap out the standard solenoid. Shit even the standard one will do it, it just doesn't hold boost as well up top and you'll get taper.
If you want E85 you need bigger injectors too. That's about it though - you can run dual map on stock ECU, use the auto ICS as a toggle. If there's no E85 around, run it close to dry, swap maps with a button press and go to 98. no worries.
i f**king love my evo haha.

they are ok for street wheels, keep them away from the track. Lots of dudes in the US use them for track rims cause they are cheap, and then you get all these threads on evom and similar sites saying "my rota's cracked" "rota bent" etc. etc. cause they are using them for shit they shouldnt be used for.
Personally i'd buy some RPF-01s. Quality light weight rim that comes in good offsets and you can get a set of 18x9.5's for like $1500 or something. Cant go wrong.

Hack is the best thing on JJJ. Probably the best thing on radio in Australia.
the music... hit and miss. mostly miss. JJJ has a definite "sound", which kind of sucks because in order to go anywhere - you need to be picked up by JJJ, which means you need to have a JJJ sound, which means everyone sounds the f**king same.

for serious though, this is an amazing clip. I knew what the plan was for some time but actually seeing it makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Awesome to see so many artists all getting involved.
also there's a big framed.. umm... frame.. filled with polaroids everyone took and signed, it's being auctioned off on ebay with the proceeds going to charity.

timing belt is pricey just like any car, i'm about to do mine and i reckon it's gonna be at least $1200., that's Timing belt, alternator belt and new water pump (might as well do it all while it's apart) plus labour. It may come to more but i reckon that's a safe estimate. Mine's at 75,000km
but it's up to you if you consider KM to be a problem or not. Pretty bullet proof cars, as long as everything's been maintained you're fine. You'll pay less for a high km model.
Things to look out for
- faded brembos - means it's spent some time on a race track. Not a big deal if the owner has maintained it properly, but if a guy says his never raced it - and the brembos are faded to f**k - you know he's lying.
- AYC pump / diff - do a few slalom turns and make sure you dont hear any weird whining / moaning from the back end. They aren't cheap to replace, but they aren't really that common a fault. People tend to kill the AYC diffs on race tracks or launching the car.
- If it's 8MR or 9, make sure 5th and 6th engage properly. The taller gears in the 6 speed are a bit more fragile than the 5 speed.
- fluid changes. make sure the diff fluids have all been changed at the proper intervals.
- clunking noise in front suspension at low speed - NFI. So many of them do it, it's just become accepted haha. I think it's something under the car knocking something else. Could also be loosish strut top nuts, worn suspension components, or bung shocks. If everything checks out and it still makes a clunk, it's probably just the notorious evo front end clunking noise.
that's probably about it, i've had my 9 a few years and have had 0 issues with it.

Gday guys
i dont know how active this forum is but i'll take a shot.
Got a mate with an MY00 classic shape STi looking for new rims. What's the best fitment for rims? he wants to run an 18. Aggressive is better but i dont think he'll want to do much work to the guards, so basically whatever will fit without a pull. I think his rears are rolled, fronts are not. He has tein SS coilies so some camber is doable.